Chattanooga Mocs dominant in silencing WCU, 51-0

photo Chattanooga Mocs quarterback Jacob Huesman (14) picks up a few yards around left end.

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Presumably the large purple and gold bell that sits in the corner of one end zone at E.J. Whitmire Stadium rings after each Western Carolina score. That bell remained silent all afternoon Saturday, at least until a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga player rang it as he passed by on his way off the field.

UTC, ranked 12th in the FCS, dismantled the host Catamounts 51-0 to take sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference. It was the first time Western Carolina was shut out at home since 1974.

"I told the team, in (my) six years here that's the best team performance by a million miles," UTC coach Russ Huesman said. "It was an unbelievable effort -- offensively, defensively and special teams. All the way around.

"In six years nothing was even close to what happened out here today -- and against a good football team. Our players and coaches should be really proud of themselves."

In what was built up to be a showdown of the last two teams unbeaten in the SoCon, the Mocs showed up ready to prove a point, particularly after some trash talk by the Catamounts during warmups. It was all quiet on the Western front later, however.

"They were a little arrogant coming out during pregame," said Mocs defensive end Davis Tull, who had a sack and needs just one more to take sole possession of the conference's career record. "They were yelling that we were overrated, and that got our attention. It's football. People are going to talk. But we thought they were riding a little too high, and we wanted to come out and make a statement.

"People started talking about Western Carolina being the team to beat. We wanted to come out and prove we were picked first for a reason. I'm glad we were able to put up a 51-0 final. They put their backups in late. I think that was smart by them."

Coming into the game Western Carolina boasted the league's top scoring defense, allowing just 20 points per game. UTC had surpassed that within the second minute of the second quarter and never let up. No FCS opponent had scored more than 21 points against the Catamounts before Saturday.

After starting off October with a 55-point performance against VMI, the Mocs began November burying another conference opponent under an avalanche of points, marking the first time they have scored 50-plus twice in a season since 1951.

The Mocs (6-3, 5-0), who now have won six straight in the series and eight of the last nine, outgained WCU 512-102 in total yards, 386 of UTC's coming on 60 punishing runs. The defense allowed just 14 yards on 22 carries and only four first downs for the game. UTC also converted 9 of its first 12 third downs into firsts and held the Catamounts to 1-of-11 third-down success.

After punting on the game's opening possession, UTC scored the next eight times it had the ball and limited the Catamounts (6-3, 4-1) to three-and-out on five of their first six possessions.

Keon Williams, who finished with 194 yards on 19 carries, scored the Mocs' first two touchdowns, covering 1 and 39 yards in the first quarter, and Jacob Huesman opened the second quarter with a 51-yard scoring pass to fullback Taharin Tyson as UTC built a 38-0 lead by halftime.

WCU dual-threat quarterback Troy Mitchell came into Saturday as the league leader in total offense with more than 2,000 yards but was held to 77, including 5 yards on the ground after being sacked three times. He also threw an interception before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter.

"They're a very good offensive team," said UTC linebacker Muhasibi Wakeel, who had four tackles with a sack. "Coming in we knew their quarterback could scramble and was dangerous at getting the ball to playmakers.

"Keeping them at zero points is huge. Most definitely this was a statement for us. We knew the stakes were high, and when some of their players started trash talking before the game, calling us overrated and chanting at us, we took that to heart and showed up on the field."

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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